Dangerous Liaisons

About

In 75 letters, the two main protagonists, the cruel Marquise de Merteuil and the cynical Vicomte de Valmont – tough players, rivals and partners – unfurl a dangerous game with the feelings of their victims, abounding in malicious emotional manipulation and brazen seduction within the web of a variable love polygon. The roles in the “dangerous game of the dangerous liaisons” are played by humiliation resulting from being spurned and desire for revenge, as well as longing for achieving satisfaction from having control over the fate of another person and steering the others’ feelings and passions. Yet not even masters of calculated strategy can be safe against the natural power of love that is capable of both saving and destroying everything …

For almost 250 years, the celebrated novel by Choderlos de Laclos (1741–1803), which has been adapted to a number of films and stage forms, has fascinated readers and audiences worldwide by retelling the story of the amoral protagonists’ refined feigned affection, sensuous scintillation and calculating brutal game. A book laying bare the libertinism of the period leading up to the French Revolution, Dangerous Liaisons splendidly fits in with the milieu of the Estates Theatre. Depleted social and erotic relations, hypocrisy and reckless narcissism are themes that boldly resonate with contemporary theatre-goers, with the distinct signature of SKUTR, the tandem of the renowned directors Martin Kukučka and Lukáš Trpišovský, boding well for an original take on the popular subject. 

Official photos: Pavel Hejný

Suitable for audience from 15 years.

The production is financially supported by the National Theatre Benefactors' Club.